COLUMBUS, Ohio – Big Ten Conference champion Ohio State makes its Big Ten record 13th consecutive appearance in the league’s post-season tournament Thursday at 7:05 p.m. against a team to be determined. The Buckeyes will play the lowest seeded winner from the opening round games Wednesday that pit:

TOURNAMENT INFO This is the first time since 1994 the Big Ten tournament is being played at a neutral park – Huntington Park in downtown Columbus – and hosted by neutral parties – the Columbus Sports Commission and the Columbus Clippers, in addition to the Big Ten Conference.

BIG TEN NETWORK COVERAGE The Big Ten Network will broadcast all 10 or 11 games of the 2009 tournament. Announcers for Ohio State’s game Thursday will be Brian Barnhart and Danan Hughes in the booth with Shireen Saski the roving reporter.

TICKETS Tickets can be purchased online at BigTen.com, ticketmaster.com and ColumbusSports.org or at the ballpark for $10 per game. The stadium will be “swept” of fans after each game. An all-tourney pass – $100 – will allow fans to say in the park after each game.

HUNTINGTON PARKHuntington Park is the new home – one month new – of the Columbus Clippers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The place is sweet, say those who’ve seen a game there. It’s cozy, friendly and offers a stunning view of downtown Columbus. Enjoy.

15TH BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP About four hours after Ohio State came from behind in Game 3 to sweep Iowa and improve to 18-6 in the Big Ten, the team became the 2009 Big Ten champion when Penn State upset league-leading Minnesota, 10-8. The title was the 15th for Ohio State and the seventh for coach Bob Todd. Here’s how the team did it:

Won series at PSU, 2-1, to open season. Lost series, 2-1, at Minnesota in Week 2. Swept Michigan State at home and Purdue on the road before winning series at home vs. Northwestern, 2-1. Game 3 loss to Northwestern left Buckeyes and Illinois tied for the top at 11-4. Won two of three vs. Michigan while Illinois won three at Northwestern to go a game up. Won series at Illinois, 2-1, but Minnesota moved into first-place by one-half game with series win at Michigan. Swept Iowa and waited.

994 WINS and 402 BIG TEN WINS Coach Bob Todd has 994 wins in his 26-year career and is seeking to become the 40th D1 coach to reach 1,000. Enshrined in the ABCA Hall of Fame in January and the Ohio State sports Hall of Fame last fall, Todd is second alltime with 402 Big Ten wins. His teams have won at least 30 games 24 consecutive seasons and one win will give him his 12th 40-win season.

10 BIG PICTURE NOTES ON OSU Ten things to know about the 2009 Ohio State Buckeyes and their championship season:

1. Ohio State has been nationally ranked since the second week of the season, a span of 13 consecutive weeks. The team is 23rd this week by Collegiate Baseball. 2. The team played its first 24 games on the road (away and neutral fields) and went 21-3. 3. The team played 27 of its first 29 away from Columbus and went 23-6 during the stretch. 4. In Big Ten play, Ohio State is 3rd in hitting (.320), 2nd in slugging (.469), 4th in ERA (4.54) and 2nd in opposing batting avg. (.264). 5. In all games, Ohio State led all Big Ten teams with a .329 average, .504 slugging pct., 431 runs, 644 hits and it also led in seven other stats. 6. The team’s 5.56 overall ERA ranked 6th among all teams and its .282 opposing batting avg. ranked 2nd. 7. The staff’s 18 saves is a school record and its 414 strikeouts is fifth-most all-time at OSU. 8. Buckeyes were honored as Big Ten weekly award winners a school record nine times. 9. Defensively, the team’s .966 fielding pct. is a five-year best and fifth-best all-time at OSU. 10. Ohio State is 33-1 when leading after the seventh inning; 1-14 when trailing.

TOURNEY TESTED TOUGH Ohio State has been the Big Ten’s most successful tournament team over the last 21 years. The Buckeyes have won eight tournament titles 1991-94-95-97 and 2002-03-05-07 since 1988, with Minnesota’s six second-most. Ohio State, Minnesota and Michigan are tied for the most Big Ten tournament titles at eight apiece.

OHIO STATE vs. 2009 BIG TEN TOURNAMENT FIELD Ohio State was 9-3 this season against teams in the Big Ten tournament, losing a series to Minnesota the second week of the season, 2-1 at the Metrodome, sweeping Michigan State and Purdue and winning , 2-1, at Illlinois. Ohio State and Indiana have not met in a series since 2007. The teams did play a single game this season at Chain of Lakes Field in Winter Haven, Fla., with Ohio State winning a terrific baseball game, 2-0. Alex Wimmers pitched a complete game and struck out 14 Hoosiers. Blake Monar allowed just four hits in 7.0 innings. (Complete stats for all the series are included within this release.)